Squeeze-bottle of liquid medicine

ABSTRACT

A bottle  2  of liquid medicine has a self-sealing closure in its neck  14 , the bottle being flexible such that when it is inverted or tilted downwardly, squeezing the bottle produces a flow of liquid medicine through the closure, and releasing the bottle terminates the flow of liquid medicine. The bottle is shaped so as to assist the operation, being of generally box-form, having side walls  6, 8  which support larger front and rear panels  10 , which can be controllably flexed.

The present invention relates to a bottle for liquid medicine.

Typically, bottles for liquid medicine have an open neck, and themedicine is dispensed by pouring. The bottle is not adapted to besqueezed to impel the medicine from the bottle. Rather, it flows undergravity, into a measuring spoon or the like. When the measuring spoon isfull to the required mark the bottle is placed upright again, and thecap put on sealingly to cover the neck.

This traditional approach has advantages of simplicity and economy, andit has been in use for many years. However is does have disadvantages.Dispensing liquid medicine by pouring is not always easily controlledand can induce spillages, especially when the medicine is of lowviscosity. Secondly, when the bottle is placed upright after pouring,the medicine on the rim of the bottle space neck does not always flowback inside the neck. It may run down the outside of the neck and evenrun onto and down the body of the bottle, below the neck. The result isthe formation of sticky residues on the outside the bottle. It maybecome very messy to handle and may make the place in which the consumerstores medicines sticky (eg the base of a medicine cabinet). The usermay perceive that the sticky medicine residues are deleterious tohygiene, especially when near the neck of the bottle.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a medicine bottlewhich overcomes or eases at least one of the problems mentioned above.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there isprovided a bottle containing liquid medicine, the bottle having a neckcontaining a self-sealing closure, the bottle being flexible such that,when it is inverted or tilted downwardly, squeezing the bottle producesa flow of liquid medicine through the closure, and releasing the bottleterminates the flow of liquid medicine.

By “inverted or tilted downwardly” we mean that the bottle is orientedwith the neck as the lowest part of the bottle.

Preferably the bottle has visually distinct upper and lower regions anda waist at the junction between them.

Preferably the upper region has rounded, downwardly sloping shouldersextending between the waist and the neck of the bottle.

Preferably each shoulder is substantially an arc of a circle. Preferablythe arc is 40-80°, preferably 50-70°, of a circle whose centre isadjacent to the waist at the bottom of the opposite shoulder, but withinthe extent of the bottle.

Preferably the lower region of the bottle tapers from the base of thebottle to the waist.

Preferably the lower region is taller than the upper region.

More preferably the waist is located between 25% and 45%, mostpreferably between 35 and 42%, of the distance from the bottom of theneck of the bottle to the base of the bottle.

Preferably the height of the lower region is between 4 and 10 cm,preferably between 5 and 7 cm.

Preferably the height of the upper region is between 3 and 5 cm.

Preferably the height of the bottle, up to the base of the neck, isbetween 7 and 15 cm, preferably between 8 and 12 cm.

Preferably the external walls of the bottle represent the boundaries forthe liquid medicine; preferably there is no bottle liner.

Preferably the volume of the bottle, up to the base of the neck, isbetween 50 and 250 ml, more preferably between 80 and 200 ml, mostpreferably between 100 and 160 ml.

Preferably the bottle has front and rear panels. Preferably each ismovable toward the other. These may be connected directly to eachother—preferably such that the bottle is generally oval incross-section—or may be connected together by means of side walls. Mostpreferably the bottle is generally of box form, having larger front andrear panels connected to each other by two narrower side walls.

The front and rear panels are preferably each somewhat outwardly bowedso that they may be moved into a flatter form, one toward the other, toimpel medicine from the bottle.

Preferably the bottle is designed such that the front and rear panelsmay be moved smoothly from their rest position to their fully inwardposition. By this we mean that the wall material of the bottle does notkink or crease abruptly as the panels are moved to their fully inwardposition.

Preferably the bottle is designed such that there is a limit to theinward movement of the front and rear panels in normal use, the limitposition preferably being, under a moderate squeezing force adequate toprovide the flow of liquid, the limit of flexure rather than the onsetof kinking, creasing, or the like. Preferably the volume of the bottlein this limit position of the front and rear panels is at least 80% ofthe volume of the bottle.

It is preferably the front and rear panels which, in elevation, show theoutline of any shaping of the bottle—for example when the upper regionhas shoulders and/or the lower region tapers. However, it iscorrespondingly the side walls which preferably have these features inrelief.

Preferably the maximum width of the front and rear panels is at leasttwice the maximum width of the side walls (when provided).

When the bottle has side walls it is designed such that the bottlecannot be pressed by force applied across the side walls to any usefuldegree, i.e. without the wall material kinking or creasing.

Preferably the bottle is made of a plastics material of such a type, andformed with such a thickness, that it may be elastically flexed in orderto reduce the volume of the container, and impel liquid medicine insideit. A suitable material is a polyester, for example polyethyleneterephthalate (PET). Preferably the bottle material is transparent, butis UV-resistant and/or coloured, preferably being brown. The bottle maybe formed by a regular bottle-forming process in which a body ofplastics material is heated and blown into a mould cavity.

The neck of the bottle preferably has press-fitted into it, in a sealingmanner, a valve module, containing the self-sealing closure. Theself-sealing closure preferably has a fitment piece, for securement inthe neck, and a valve. The fitment piece preferably includes an annulusof supporting material, preferably a rigid plastics material, which has,depending orthogonally from it, a cylindrical piece which fitsgrippingly within the neck of the bottle, and, extending laterallyoutside that, a flange which rests against the rim of the neck. Withinthe annulus is the valve. The valve is preferably a slit valve of aplastics material, for example of an elastomeric or polyolefin material.Preferably, the plastics material is an elastomeric material, mostpreferably a silicone elastomeric material. Preferably the valve isurged open by raised pressure inside the bottle, and automatically sealsover once again, when the pressure is released. Examples of such valvesmay be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,237, U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,143 and U.S.Pat. No. 6,446,844. A preferred valve has contacting surfaces which arespread apart to allow the liquid to pass. Preferably the valve does notcomprise a flap, for example a hinged or cantilevered flap.

The external surface of the neck may be formed with a screw thread, ontowhich a cap may be screwed. The cap is preferably of a child-proof type.Preferably the cap is of a tamper-evident type.

Preferably, the medicine is a viscous liquid, most preferably a syrup.

Thus a preferred embodiment of the invention is a bottle containingliquid medicine, the bottle having a self-sealing closure in its neck;the bottle being flexible such that when it is inverted, squeezing thebottle produces a flow of liquid medicine through the closure, andreleasing the bottle terminates the flow of liquid medicine, preferablywith the bottle reverting to its original shape; the bottle preferablybeing shaped so as to assist this operation, in particular in preferablyhaving major front and rear panels, which can be controllably flexed.

In a second aspect there is provided a method of dispensing liquidmedicine, using a liquid medicine-containing bottle of the first aspect.

In use, a bottle containing liquid medicine has its cap removed and isturned so that the neck is lowermost. A measuring spoon or cup is heldbeneath the neck and the bottle gently squeezed, whereupon a smoothstream of liquid medicine is impelled into the spoon or cup. When thespoon or cup contains the required amount of medicine the user releasesthe squeezing force and the stream of medicine is immediatelyterminated, without dripping. The bottle is placed upright once againand the cap replaced.

It is observed that there is a negligible amount of medicine, or nomedicine at all, left outside the bottle, and that dispensing is veryprecise.

The bottle has been designed to promote easy and accurate operation. Thepreferred features of the taper in the lower region and the shoulders ofthe upper region, with the waist between them, are such that users areencouraged to hold the front and rear panels of the bottle. Notably theymay grasp the lower region of the bottle, either with their fingerwrapped around the lower region, with their forefinger around the waist,or with fingertips against one of the panels and thumb against the otherof the panels. In either position the natural action is to gently pressthe front panel and/or the rear panel.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example, withreference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a frontal view of a bottle of the invention with its cap off;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the same bottle with its cap on;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same bottle with its cap off, from above;and

FIG. 4 is an under-plan view of the same bottle, from below.

The bottle shown in the drawings contains a viscous liquid medicine,such as a cough syrup.

As may be seen most clearly from FIGS. 1 and 2 viewed together, thebottle may generally be described as being of box-form, having front andrear panels 2, 4, identical with each other, and two side panelsindicated generally as 6, 8, identical with each other. The width of theside panels is considerably less than the width of the front and rearpanels, by a ratio of approximately 1:3.

However, although the bottle may be viewed as having a box-likestructure, as distinct from a traditional bottle shape of a cylindersurmounted by a frusto-conical top region, it is not of cuboid shape.Superimposed upon the generally box-like structure are important shapefeatures, which will now be described.

The bottle has a lower region 10, and an upper region 12. The bottle'sneck 14 projects upwards from the top of the upper region.

As can be seen in the frontal view of FIG. 1, the lower region tapers inthe upward direction. In other words, the side panels 6, 8 are somewhatinwardly directed, in the lower region.

Also as shown best in FIG. 1, the upper region has two outwardlyprojecting formations, in the form of shoulders 15, 16. The shouldersare rounded and downwardly sloping, and extend between the neck of thebottle and the junction between the upper region and the lower region.It may be seen that at this junction the bottle has a waist 18. Eachshoulder can be seen as representing an approximately 60° arc of acircle whose centre is near to the opposite shoulder, adjacent to thewaist 18.

It will be apparent that the shoulders 15, 16 are formed as relieffeatures in the side panels 6, 8, and this can best be seen in FIG. 2.

It will be seen in FIG. 2 that in the side walls the junction betweeneach shoulder 15, 16 and the respective tapering region 6, 8 is ofcurved, upwardly-facing form.

The front and rear panels 2, 4 and the side panels 6, 8 terminate at thebottom of the bottle in a base wall 20, shown in FIG. 4. From this itmay be seen that the front and rear panels 2, 4 are markedly convex. Theside walls 6, 8 are very slightly convex. Due to their convex shapeportions of the side walls may be seen in FIG. 2, and are indicated as2A, 4A.

Fitted into the neck 14 of the bottle is a self-sealing closure 24, seenin FIG. 4. The closure consists of an annular plastics body 26 restingon the rim of the neck. It has as cylindrical part (not shown)resiliently retained within the neck. The plastics body supports in theopening within it a cross-slit silicone valve 28. The valve 28 is of thetype which remains closed in all orientations until the liquid medicineis in some manner impelled. When the impelling force is removed theclosure seals once again.

The bottle wall is of a brown transparent flexible plastics (PET)material. Its volume may be reduced by squeezing, in order to impelliquid medicine through the closure 24. Because of the design of thebottle the side panels 6, 8 feel comparatively rigid whereas the frontand rear panels 2, 4 feel much more flexible, in the upper region 12and, especially, in the lower region 10. The bottle is designed suchthat the front and rear panels may be moved smoothly towards each otherbut with immediate relaxation when the force is removed. Applying asimilar force to the side panels yields no such action. Rather, theforce is initially resisted, then, if a substantial force is applied tothe side walls, they abruptly crumple or collapse inwardly.

The neck of the bottle is formed with a screw thread 30 and the cap 32has a corresponding internal screw thread. It also has child-proof andtamper-evident features. These features are all entirely standard andwill not be described further.

The distance between the top of the upper region 12 (ie the base of theneck 14) to the waist 18 is approximately four-tenths of the distancebetween the top of the upper region 12 to the base wall 20.

In this embodiment the width of the base wall is about 5.3 cm. The widthof the waist is about 4.7 cm. The maximum width of the upper region isabout 5.0 cm. The distance between the top of the upper region and thewaist is about 4.0 cm and the distance between the top of the upperregion and the base wall is about 10.0 cm. The volume of the bottle (notincluding the neck space) is about 140 ml and is intended to supplyabout 125 ml of liquid medicine.

To use the bottle the cap is removed, the bottle is inverted ordownwardly tilted (as the user prefers), and the front and/or rear panelpressed in order to dispense liquid medicine into a measuring device,for example a measuring cup or spoon. The bottle is designed so that theuser is encouraged to press the front and/or rear panel 2, 4 in order toimpel the liquid medicine through the closure 24. Moreover, it isdesigned so that it fits comfortably within the hand, with the fingersof the user around the lower region, with the forefinger resting underone of the shoulders 14, 16, that is, around the waist 18; or withfingertips on one panel and thumb on the other. We have found that whenthe user grasps the bottle in either of these ways reliable dispensingcan most readily be achieved. Accordingly the design of the bottle, withits box-type structure and with its tapering lower region, the shouldersand the waist in between, is intended to maximise the likelihood of theuser holding the bottle in one of these ways.

When the required amount of liquid medicine has been dispensed the userreleases the force on the bottle and the stream of liquid medicine ischoked off immediately, by the coming together by the slits of theclosure 24.

1. A bottle containing liquid medicine, the bottle having a neckcontaining a self-sealing closure, the bottle being flexible such that,when it is inverted or tilted downwardly, squeezing the bottle producesa flow of liquid medicine through the closure, and releasing the bottleterminates the flow of liquid medicine.
 2. A bottle as claimed in claim1, wherein the bottle has front and rear panels which may be urgedtowards one another to effect squeezing of the bottle.
 3. A bottle asclaimed in claim 2, wherein the front and rear panels are each outwardlybowed.
 4. A bottle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the bottle isgenerally of box form, having larger front and rear panels connected toeach other by two narrower side walls.
 5. A bottle as claimed in claim4, wherein the maximum width of the front and rear panels is at leasttwice the maximum width of the side walls.
 6. A bottle as claimed inclaim 1, having visually distinct upper and lower regions and a waist atthe junction between them.
 7. A bottle as claimed in claim 6, whereinthe upper region has rounded, downwardly sloping shoulders extendingfrom the neck of the bottle to the waist.
 8. A bottle as claimed inclaim 6 wherein the lower region of the bottle tapers from the base ofthe bottle to the waist.
 9. A bottle as claimed in claim 6 wherein thelower region is taller than the upper region.
 10. A method of dispensingliquid medicine, using a bottle as claimed in claim
 1. 11. (canceled)